Looking for a stove that can give me the BTUs

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otsegony

otsegony

Member
Dec 19, 2006
55
To all:

For insurance and efficiency reasons it is time to replace my Fisher Grandpa-clone wood stove. This basement installed stove has served me very well for the last ten years providing all of my 2000 sq. ft., two-story homes heat down to about 15 degrees and the vast majority of it even below that temperature. I went from burning over 700 gallons of fuel oil before the stove to about 200 gallons this very cold year.
The stoves that my local hearth dealer suggested as replacements are the Quadra-Fire 5700, Harman TL 2.6 and the Jotul F55. I am leaning toward the Jotul based on the simplicity of the design and the reputation that it has amongst users here. I am wondering if there I am missing any other larger stoves that I should be considering. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Garet
Cooperstown, NY
 
The Jotul F55 is a good stove and heater. Some others in this size range to look at would be the Osburn 2400, Regency F3100, Country Canyon 310, Blaze King Princess and the Pacific Energy Summit. If you can accommodate a stove with an 8" flue pipe then the Regency 5100, Blaze King King and Kuma Sequoia are worth looking at. In order to get the best performance out of a modern stove it must have fully seasoned fuel. That means 2 yrs seasoning for good hardwood like oak and hickory.

Is the basement fully insulated?
 
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Thanks for the reply. Yes, the basement is insulated per NYS code from the beginning and that has been a tremendous help in making the situation work. There are also a couple of passive cold air returns that come down from the first floor to a point a few feet away from the stove that have helped with the circulation of the warm air. The flue is 8" triple wall, so I think that I will take a look at the bigger stoves. Of those the Blaze King and the Regency have local dealers so I'll check them out as well. Of those, the Blaze King is somewhat more interesting to me because it is a non-cat stove, which is what I would prefer to have. Thanks for the help!
 
Blaze King stoves are catalytic. So are the Kuma Sequoia and the Regency F5100. Blaze King stoves in particular have a good reputation and are known for their long burn times.
 
Also because you have an 8" triple wall chimney system in already you should stay with the bigger stoves unless you are willing to put a new 6" chimney system for a smaller stove.
 
Okay, two questions based on this feedback. One being the Blaze King stove lists a BTU output of 51,582 per hour over 12 hours. The Jotul F55 claims "up to 83,000 BTU/hr." I assume that these are two very different ways of measuring stove output. Is there anyway to compare the two stove's output based on these figures?
The other is that I thought that it was okay to go from smaller (6") to larger (8") with an adapter on the stovepipe, but not vice versa. What are the issues with using to go from a 6" stove to an 8" chimney?

Thanks for your input!
 
Yes, two different measurements. One is continuous output the other is peak output. There is a lot of marketing in specs. Blaze King tends to provide real world figures. Note that the King stove has over a third more fuel capacity than the F55 that helps it achieve longer burn times. Comparing the BK Ashford 30 to the F55 would be a closer comparison.

The disadvantage of going from one size to a large size flue is that slows down the flow of flue gases reducing draft. If the chimney draws well than this may not be an issue as long as the increase is not too much. But this is just one factor of many that can affect draft. Chimney height, temperature and location are also factors. A exterior basement chimney may have poor draft where any increase in size could be detrimental. Another issue with slower flue gases can be creosote build up due to excessive cooling of the flue gases. Cat stoves can be more sensitive to this due to lower flue gas temps coming from the stove.

Here's some more info on the topic of chimneys:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/chimneys_an_unexact_science/
 
Up to means it's the max output for a given stove. 12 hours for King it means that every hour for 12 hours it is capable of putting out the same out of btus as far as I know there is no other stove that would do the same thing.
 
I am surely going to check out the Blaze King, but also based on what I've read not terribly concerned about the 6" stove into an 8" chimney given that it is an interior chimney with a very strong draw...
 
You should be following what the manufacturer requires for their stove. Some people get away with that, but it's a no no.
 
otsegony said:
I am surely going to check out the Blaze King, but also based on what I've read not terribly concerned about the 6" stove into an 8" chimney given that it is an interior chimney with a very strong draw...
Click to expand...
It is possible that a 6" stove would work fine but it is also very possible you would have some serious performance issues with it as well i would not just dismiss it as not being an issue. Also have you had the chimney professionally inspected? It is an older install and i think you should have the chimney checked out before going any further in your decision making because if it needs replaced that could change things allot.
 
prezes13 said:
You should be following what the manufacturer requires for their stove. Some people get away with that, but it's a no no.
Click to expand...
For best performance you want to match the stove's flue collar size all the way up to the chimney cap. However, a doubling of cross section is permissible. 6" round is ~28 sq in., 8" round is ~50 sq in.. A more important consideration is what is the chimney liner? Is there an 8" stainless steel liner in the chimney or is there a larger, rectangular, clay-tile liner?

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/chimney_and_fireplace_sizing/
 
Last edited:
Sorry, I don't mean to be dismissive, its just that the chimney system works very well as is. The chimney is 8" stainless triple wall twenty-eight feet up to just past the peak of the roof. I believe that the brand name is DuraVent, but I'm not sure. It has been cleaned and inspected every year and has gotten a clean bill of health. Typically after sweeping there will be less than a coffee can (why is this the standard measure for chimney sweepings?) of soot, but no detectible creosote.
The dealer who I am working with sells both stoves. He has been in business for many years and is well respected in the area. I will defer to him about the suitability of the stove...
 
Good news on the liner. I would definitely try it even if you get a 6" flue stove. Cat or non-cat, there will be a bit of a learning curve switching from an old stove to newer tech. A cat stove will take more mindfulness, but lots of folks do this without issue. Dry wood is the key to having a happy transition with either tech.
 
otsegony said:
Sorry, I don't mean to be dismissive, its just that the chimney system works very well as is. The chimney is 8" stainless triple wall twenty-eight feet up to just past the peak of the roof. I believe that the brand name is DuraVent, but I'm not sure. It has been cleaned and inspected every year and has gotten a clean bill of health. Typically after sweeping there will be less than a coffee can (why is this the standard measure for chimney sweepings?) of soot, but no detectible creosote.
The dealer who I am working with sells both stoves. He has been in business for many years and is well respected in the area. I will defer to him about the suitability of the stove...
Click to expand...
Good Glad to hear the chimney is in good shape and at 28' it will most likely be fine .
 
Double barrel stove throws about 240,000 btu's.....LOL
 
otsegony said:
Sorry, I don't mean to be dismissive, its just that the chimney system works very well as is. The chimney is 8" stainless triple wall twenty-eight feet up to just past the peak of the roof. I believe that the brand name is DuraVent, but I'm not sure. It has been cleaned and inspected every year and has gotten a clean bill of health. Typically after sweeping there will be less than a coffee can (why is this the standard measure for chimney sweepings?) of soot, but no detectible creosote.
The dealer who I am working with sells both stoves. He has been in business for many years and is well respected in the area. I will defer to him about the suitability of the stove...
Click to expand...

How you get that small amount of creosote from a smoke dragon is beyond me!

The Blaze King King is an awesome stove. The old stove may kick out more heat for a few hours, but the king specializes in even heat over the entire burn cycle. Expect 12 to 30 hour burn times depending on outdoor temps!
 
Just gonna throw this out there. Take a look at Buck Stoves model 91 (cat) and 94 (non-cat). Both boast 4.4 cu ft fireboxes with 8" chimney.....
 
aansorge said:
How you get that small amount of creosote from a smoke dragon is beyond me!
Click to expand...

Our old Jotul runs pretty clean too. Dry wood and good burning practices will keep creosote down, even with old tech. Keep the flue gas temps well above the condensation point and the flue should stay fairly clean.

Good suggestion for the Buck stoves MaintenanceMan.
 
Still the Buck non cat could be a contender and maybe work better then a cat stove in this situation.
 
Garet I just Googled that and was surprised to see what looked like an ash bucket on the bottom of that stove...It is a beautiful stove.

We have a 4300 which does the job but imo is too small. I recommend you get the fan/blower for it too.

Not that I'm against an ash bucket but after 20+ years with one it was a difficult segue...but now it's become 2nd nature.

Just curious on what motivated the great thinkers at Quadra Fire to do that?
 
I checked out the Buck Stoves on line and they look great, but there is no dealer nearby so I think that choice is out for me.
 
Hi Ot, To replace your old faithful, best to get the biggest heat beast you can. A large steel stove is what you are used to, I'd stay with that too. The big Quad 5700, Osburn 2400, Enviro 2100, PE Summit are some real heat beasts. All will have big heat output, long burn times and from the basement, are probably the best platform to have. Your chimney should work fine as well. Good luck with it, just get good dry seasoned wood, these new stoves need it.
 
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